Reality Suite: From Dirty Napkin Dreams to Rocking Stages Worldwide

On this episode of Greetings From the Garden State, powered by the New Jersey Lottery, Mike Ham heads to Angry Papa Entertainment in Wallington, NJ to sit down with the powerhouse rock band Reality Suite — Kimmii Heart, Brian King, Joe Padula, and Jeff Luke.

They dive into the band's Jersey roots, their evolution over the past decade, and how their sound has grown through lineup changes and shared influences. From their early days jamming in 2008 to headlining venues and opening for major acts like Nickelback, the Reality Suite journey is a testament to resilience, passion, and relentless creativity.

The band also shares the story behind their name (hint: it involves a Howard Stern episode and a crumpled napkin) and reveals what drives them to keep making music. Plus, they give a sneak peek at their brand new single, "These Fears," dropping the same day this episode airs!

And of course, they're gearing up to bring the loudest set of the night at Jersey Fest on May 17 at White Eagle Hall.

Topics Covered:

• How Reality Suite formed and found their identity
• Blending classic rock roots with modern influences
• Joining the band and putting a personal stamp on the sound
• Their defining moments of success (pre- and post-pandemic)
• Collaborating on a track for WWE Superstar Liv Morgan
• The importance of evolving without losing authenticity
• New single "These Fears" release announcement
• What fans can expect at Jersey Fest 2024

Key Quotes:

🎸 "We call our writing a metamorphosis — everyone puts their touch on it and it transforms into something totally Reality Suite-ified." – Kimmii Heart
 🎤 "We all bring our influences, but at the end of the day, we serve the song." – Jeff Luke
 🔥 "When we rock, it sounds authentic. It kicks ass — that's who we are." – Brian King
 🌎 "Our biggest love sometimes came from places halfway around the world — and that's when we realized, this really means something." – Joe Padula

Featured Guest(s):

• Kimmii Heart – Lead Vocals
• Brian King – Drums
• Joe Padula – Guitar
• Jeff Luke – Bass Guitar & Background Vocals

Connect with Reality Suite:

🔗 Website
📸 Instagram
📹 YouTube
🔍 Search "Reality Suite" on Facebook and YouTube!

(Reminder: it's "Suite" — like a hotel suite — not "Sweet.")

Upcoming Event:

🎟️ See Reality Suite LIVE at Jersey Fest
🗓️ May 17, 2024 | White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ
🎫 Tickets: radiogardenstate.com/jerseyfest

Sponsor:

This episode is powered by the New Jersey Lottery – Anything Can Happen in Jersey!
Also brought to you by the Mayo Performing Arts Center — the heart of arts and entertainment in Morristown, NJ. Visit mayoarts.org for upcoming shows.

Transcript

Speaker A [0:00 - 0:30]: Foreign. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Greetings for the Garden State, powered by the New Jersey Lottery. I'm Mike Ham. We are here at Angry Papa Entertainment. I got that right, Right. It's Wallington, New Jersey. I didn't realize how close this was to me. Me. And honestly, if I came here like once a week. Do you guys come here once a week? 

Speaker B [0:30 - 0:30]: We do, yes. 

Speaker A [0:30 - 0:41]: I'd go to Rut Hut literally every single week. Like, I already go too much. So shout out to Ruts Hut. Of course. And then come here. Yeah, and then go back to Ruts Hut. Cuz now they're open to 11 again, you know. 

Speaker B [0:41 - 0:41]: Sweet. 

Speaker C [0:41 - 0:42]: So we'll see you next Wednesday. 

Speaker A [0:42 - 0:49]: We'll see you like right after this, you know? Yeah. So we're here with Reality Suite guys. Welcome to the show. 

Speaker B [0:49 - 0:49]: Thank you. 

Speaker D [0:49 - 0:50]: Yeah, thank you, Mike. 

Speaker A [0:50 - 1:07]: Absolutely. So very excited to have you on. And we'll just go right out of the gate because you guys are playing Jersey Fest on May 17, which we're very excited to have you closing out the show. We're just going to get like progressively louder and louder as the night goes on, which is phenomenal. So we're excited to have you as part of the show. 

Speaker B [1:08 - 1:09]: Yeah, we're super excited. 

Speaker D [1:09 - 1:10]: Yeah, we are stoked. 

Speaker A [1:10 - 1:27]: Yeah. All right, so let's maybe if. If we can do like, like around the horn, say what everybody does in the band, and then we'll just keep it quick, short, and then we'll kind of get into like the origins of Reality Suite and then we'll kind of take it from there. So, Kimmy, you want to start? 

Speaker B [1:27 - 1:32]: Sure. Yeah. My name is Kimmy Hart. I am the singer of Reality Suite. 

Speaker D [1:33 - 1:36]: Further around the horn. I play the French horn with my. 

Speaker A [1:36 - 1:38]: To really round out that sound. 

Speaker D [1:38 - 1:38]: Yes. 

Speaker A [1:38 - 1:39]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [1:39 - 1:42]: My name is Brian King and I play the drums. 

Speaker C [1:43 - 1:49]: Joe Padula, I play guitar. And we all sort of toss the salad. 

Speaker B [1:50 - 1:51]: Already starting. 

Speaker E [1:52 - 1:54]: Jeff, Luke, bass guitar and background vocals. 

Speaker A [1:54 - 2:03]: Sure. How long has Reality Suite in? I know it's been a couple different iterations, but how long has Reality Suite been a band. 

Speaker B [2:05 - 2:06]: In total? 

Speaker A [2:06 - 2:06]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [2:06 - 2:07]: Like what? 

Speaker A [2:07 - 2:10]: Like when the first time Reality was that. 

Speaker C [2:10 - 2:12]: Yeah, we're bad at math. 

Speaker A [2:12 - 2:17]: Maybe not decade the years, but like what year did around did you start? 

Speaker D [2:17 - 2:19]: Well, we started. 

Speaker A [2:20 - 2:21]: Use that mic, though. 

Speaker D [2:21 - 2:23]: It's the mic. 

Speaker C [2:23 - 2:24]: He's a drummer. 

Speaker D [2:24 - 2:45]: I am a drummer. Lefty, mind you. We started kind of playing. Joey and I started playing together with our original bass player, Antonio. Probably was 08.08. Yeah. End of 08. And then 09, and we had a few other friends that were singing with us. And then Kimmy joined in 2010. No, 2014. 2014. 

Speaker B [2:46 - 2:47]: Yeah. Sounds right. 

Speaker D [2:47 - 2:49]: And we are bad at math. 

Speaker A [2:49 - 2:49]: It's fine. 

Speaker D [2:49 - 2:51]: I did that without a calculator. 

Speaker A [2:51 - 2:51]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [2:52 - 2:59]: So, yeah. So we kind of consider 2014 the official launch, so to speak. 

Speaker A [2:59 - 3:07]: Yeah. And, like, how's it been? Has it been fun? You guys enjoyed doing it, clearly, because it's been a decade, right? 

Speaker C [3:07 - 3:07]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [3:07 - 3:08]: Have you been having fun? 

Speaker C [3:08 - 3:09]: Yeah. 

Speaker E [3:10 - 3:14]: For the last decade? Yes, I have a lot. 

Speaker D [3:15 - 3:16]: I've been going to Rut. Yeah. 

Speaker E [3:16 - 3:17]: Going to Rut. 

Speaker D [3:17 - 3:21]: Traveling up the parkway from Colt's Neck to see Rut. 

Speaker A [3:21 - 3:47]: Yeah. Cool. So. So we did say, like, out of the gate that for Jersey Fest, like, we're going to get louder, basically, as the night goes on. So we have Emerson Wolf and the Wishbone starting starting us off. And they're kind of like folk Americana, sort of. And then Conor Bracken and the Mother Leads band. They're kind of like bluesy rock. And then you guys, if you could describe your sound, how would you describe it? 

Speaker B [3:48 - 3:49]: So we're the loudest. 

Speaker A [3:49 - 3:51]: You are the loudest, for sure. 

Speaker D [3:51 - 3:54]: That's how she describes it. The loudest. Yeah. 

Speaker B [3:54 - 3:54]: Yes. 

Speaker A [3:54 - 3:55]: Just loud. 

Speaker B [3:55 - 3:56]: We're loud. 

Speaker A [3:56 - 4:11]: Yeah. When you guys were. When the band started a decade ago. Like, some of the first songs, are they still kind of like in rotation? Like, the songs you guys play when you're on stage, are they still, like, main parts of the catalog? Obviously a little bit different with Kimmy joining, like, later on, but still playing those ones? 

Speaker D [4:12 - 4:27]: Not currently, but up until maybe, like, last year, there were songs that have had iterations of probably two or three other singers before Kimmy. Like, say there was a song called Wingman, which was the first song I think we wrote technically. 

Speaker C [4:27 - 4:30]: Right. And another one called Die Dreaming that we've been playing. 

Speaker B [4:30 - 4:31]: We still play that one. 

Speaker D [4:31 - 4:36]: Yeah, we do still play. It's not in the set. We're a little tired the moment, but sure. 

Speaker A [4:36 - 4:37]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [4:37 - 4:42]: But we have a lot of new songs, so it's. It's, you know, it's one of those things where it's like choosing the new songs. 

Speaker C [4:42 - 4:43]: Cater to the fans, man. 

Speaker A [4:43 - 5:06]: Yeah. Give the people what they want. And then as you've added, you know, obviously, like, adding Kimmy and adding new members over the course of this decade, like, has that been. Like, how has that kind of, like, influenced what you guys play? How you guys play? And then I guess we'll. After we do that, then maybe, like, how's it been joining a band that had been a band for a while and then kind of being able to put your own stamp on that. 

Speaker B [5:06 - 5:10]: Yeah. I mean, Jeff can also answer that question too, since he's our newest member. 

Speaker E [5:10 - 5:38]: Yeah. So, I mean, everybody's been super good with taking, you know, new ideas and everything. Like, I obviously come from a very similar background, but, you know, a lot of different. You know, everybody listens to different bands, and there's maybe something that I've heard that they haven't, and I'll be like, oh, we could do something that like. Like, this is what I like, and this is how I wrote it and how I came to be. And, you know, we've already worked a lot of that stuff in a new material, and it's just been a really cool process, like integrating into all that new sound. 

Speaker C [5:38 - 5:40]: That's the whole tossing of the salad. 

Speaker E [5:40 - 5:44]: Yeah. I mean, of course, continuously tossing now. 

Speaker A [5:45 - 5:46]: Extra lettuce. Yeah. 

Speaker E [5:46 - 5:51]: There's romaine now and arugula. Yeah. 

Speaker A [5:52 - 5:57]: And what about you? Obviously, like, having a stamp, being the lead singer of the band, you know, what's that been like? 

Speaker B [5:58 - 6:20]: I mean, when I first joined the band, of course it's a little intimidating at first because it's. Everything's new. But, yeah, I brought my ideas, I brought my. My influences, and we just kind of, you know, we started writing new. New material. And I call our writing a metamorphosis. 

Speaker D [6:20 - 6:20]: Sure. 

Speaker B [6:20 - 6:32]: Because, like, you know, everyone puts their. Their. Their touch to it, and it just. It starts at one way and at the end, it's something totally reality. Sweet ified. Yeah, that's what I call it. 

Speaker A [6:32 - 6:32]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [6:32 - 6:34]: And it's. It's pretty cool seeing the process totally. 

Speaker D [6:35 - 7:03]: Like, going back to what you asked before, Mike, you know, regardless of our goofy answers to describe our sound, I think, you know, based on what Kimmy is saying. I don't know if modern vintage is kind of like a cliche, but it's like we have roots in classic rock, I think, you know, but we also love modern rock, pop music. All different styles of music. Yeah. So, like, you know, when. 

Speaker C [7:03 - 7:04]: No, no, go ahead. 

Speaker D [7:04 - 7:25]: So, like, when, like, say, Joe comes up with a song and it's, you know, maybe it's going in that little. Maybe it's like a song. Kind of like Van Halen or something. I'm sorry, it's just the first thing comes to my head, but Van Halen. And then, you know, Jeff and I get behind the rhythm section, and then it kind of veers off into a different direction, like, more I Don't know. What would you say? 

Speaker E [7:26 - 7:31]: I don't know. I think everything is, like. We all try to serve the song pretty much as best as we can. 

Speaker A [7:31 - 7:32]: Sure. 

Speaker E [7:32 - 7:59]: If Brian's thinking, like, oh, this sounds like this kind of band. You know what I mean? Like, this is what influence I'm bringing to it, and it sounds the best. That's what we go with, you know? And as a bass player, like, I could do, you know, funk stuff. I could do thrash stuff. You know what I mean? Like, I could really mix in, you know, whatever I feel like is best for the song. So it starts from, like, that kind of idea, and then, you know, it just evolves into what it is, which is some badass, like, rock music that we're gonna bring to the stage. 

Speaker A [7:59 - 8:00]: Sure. 

Speaker D [8:00 - 8:01]: Mostly badass. Some of it's not badass. 

Speaker A [8:01 - 8:05]: Yeah, mostly badass. Yeah. Joey, were you gonna say something before? No. 

Speaker C [8:06 - 8:27]: To what? To Brian's point and Jeff's. It's like the. You know, just a meshing of everything together. And, you know, just the cool part about what we do is we, you know, at the end of the day, it's like. Like Jeff said, it's for this. We write it for the song, but we. We all have to love our parts that we're doing. You know what I mean? So it's, you know, it just works out. 

Speaker D [8:27 - 8:27]: We. 

Speaker C [8:27 - 8:28]: You know, that's. That's. 

Speaker A [8:28 - 8:57]: So it seems to be, like, a pretty collaborative effort putting the songs together. Right? Yeah. Which is cool. So then you have, like, you know, different influences. So I'm also curious. So, like, before Reality Suite, and we could also. Maybe we'll go backwards this time around the horn. Like, what were you doing before? And then maybe, like, how that has influenced, like, how this. Maybe the Reality Suite sound has been impacted because of different bands that you guys have played in before, and then, like, how you made your way to the band, basically. Right. 

Speaker D [8:57 - 8:58]: That's a great question. 

Speaker A [8:58 - 8:59]: Thank you. 

Speaker D [9:00 - 9:01]: May I? 

Speaker A [9:01 - 9:02]: Yeah, go for it. 

Speaker D [9:03 - 9:09]: Well, I can't help, you know, answer that question without going back to the roots. What did you grow up listening to? 

Speaker E [9:09 - 9:09]: And. 

Speaker D [9:09 - 9:39]: And, you know, when I was a kid, I was listening to a lot of Rush and, you know, Metallica was a big influence, but I still liked, you know, some of the stuff that was going on at the time, like, what we refer to as, like, hair metal, you know, or, like, Rat or Motley Crue extreme, that type of stuff. Kiss. But as I grew older, you know, I started listening to more, not even, like, heavy music, but, like, Harry, Right. Carry all the way. 

Speaker A [9:39 - 9:47]: Yeah. I do get that when I listen to you guys play a little Mariah Care, you know, carry flavor. For sure. 

Speaker D [9:47 - 9:57]: Personally, I went through, like, a dance rock phase, like the sounds, which I was listening to today, ironically. Yeah, the sounds. Shiny Toy Guns, the Bravery, the Killers. All the bands. 

Speaker A [9:57 - 9:58]: Sure. 

Speaker D [9:58 - 10:24]: Franz Ferdinand. Still love all those guys. And me personally, the bands I was in at that time, there was a band called Tenets High. We're from Long Island City. But anything after that kind of everything, even what I play now has, like, a stint of, like, little bit of that disco beat. Creeps in every once in a while. I'm sorry, but, like, just that. That little period of influence. I still love that music. 

Speaker A [10:24 - 10:24]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [10:24 - 10:34]: But I still love, like, Nickelback and, you know, metal. But I still have that little, you know, that love for something with a beat, you know? 

Speaker A [10:34 - 10:35]: Yeah, yeah. 

Speaker D [10:35 - 10:35]: And then. 

Speaker C [10:36 - 10:38]: Yeah, that's the whole Dynasty album, right? 

Speaker D [10:38 - 10:39]: That's Dynasty. Yeah. 

Speaker C [10:39 - 11:28]: Kiss, Dynasty, you know, check it has that. That dance to it. That's what we're. We come from. But, yeah, same. Same with me. I mean, Van Halen, White lion, you know, the. The hair metal bands back in the 80s, you know, that's where I was kind of rooted. And when I started learning how to play guitar. Richie Katz and, you know, just, you know, guitar greats. Steve, I. And, you know, so that's what I bring into it. You know what I mean? That's my influence. And. And the cool thing is, like I was saying before, these guys sort of, like, might bring me out of that a little bit, which is great, because, you know, I don't want to stay in that realm. Yeah, it's. It's. It's in me to come, you know, when I play. But it's kind of tame it a little bit, you know what I mean? So it's not. I don't want to sound like Eddie Van Halen, not that I ever would, but, you know, I mean, had that. 

Speaker A [11:28 - 11:28]: Sure. 

Speaker C [11:28 - 11:32]: That's. Yeah, yeah. Who's Eddie? 

Speaker A [11:33 - 11:34]: It's reality. 

Speaker D [11:34 - 11:34]: Joey Van Halen. 

Speaker A [11:35 - 11:35]: Yeah. 

Speaker E [11:36 - 12:08]: Yeah. I mean, if we're going back, like, Brian was. I was pretty much raised on, like, the Big Four, you know, thrash, like Bay Area, you know, thrash metal. And that went into, like, grunge and, you know, it just kind of evolved with that just, you know, within life and, you know, in my 20s, it was all about, like, revival punk, you know, like folk and into what I listen to today, but sprinkled in between that and I think it's funny Like a lot of metal kids, or at least everyone I know, like secretly like something that isn't super metal. 

Speaker A [12:09 - 12:09]: Yeah, sure. 

Speaker E [12:09 - 12:18]: At some point you find out what that other person's band is and you're. They're like embarrassed. So I luckily that. Luckily I got to that point early in my life. 

Speaker D [12:18 - 12:20]: Prince. It was Prince, right? 

Speaker E [12:20 - 12:21]: I like Prince. Yeah. 

Speaker D [12:21 - 12:23]: When Doves Cry. Yeah, that song makes me cry. 

Speaker E [12:23 - 12:36]: You're like, of course. They're like Mariah Carey, whatever. Yeah. But yeah, no, you eventually just find those people and luckily if you're like me, kind of find it early so you don't stay that close minded. 

Speaker A [12:36 - 12:36]: Yeah. 

Speaker E [12:36 - 12:50]: You know, later in life. And then, you know, most people who don't even play music kind of stop listening to new music. So it's, it's cool to still be inspired by new things coming in and to not be, you know, embarrassed by what you like, what you don't like. 

Speaker A [12:50 - 12:51]: Yeah. 

Speaker E [12:51 - 13:06]: So that's, you know, it gives me a lot of opportunity. Bring stuff to the band that maybe somebody hasn't heard of or like kind of one of those hear me out on this type of situations. Yeah, yeah, sure. 

Speaker D [13:06 - 13:11]: We just instruct Jeff to like send us an email. We'll get back to him. Yeah, but try to get an email. We'll. 

Speaker A [13:11 - 13:17]: I left it on red. I left it on red. We're just gonna get back to it as soon as we can. And I leave him for weeks and months at a time. 

Speaker E [13:17 - 13:31]: So I mean, to that point I was able to play, you know, and you know, all kinds of different bands, like even solo doing me at acoustic guitar thing for a while. So it's just a lot of different experiences that I could bring into, you know, what we play and what we think about. 

Speaker A [13:31 - 13:38]: Yeah. And then before we get to Kimmy, I am curious to how you found the band or the band found. How did that. 

Speaker E [13:38 - 14:08]: So, okay, so I used to be a band called Nightfires. And from about 2018 to just before the pandemic, I think it's 2019, it kind of gets fuzzy. Sure. But so we had a singer and you know, she was very good. And we were like, let's look for, you know, other bands to kind of like befriend, you know, learn a little bit of the ropes, like what to expect, what, you know, what venues are cool, you know, with that kind of thing and whatnot. Because it's hard, you know, I'm sure Kimmy could talk about it too, but. 

Speaker D [14:08 - 14:10]: Jeff reached out to me. He's like, hey, does your singer get dick pics. 

Speaker E [14:10 - 14:12]: No, I did not. 

Speaker B [14:12 - 14:12]: Oh, my God. 

Speaker D [14:13 - 14:17]: I did not. He was like. He just wanted to know what to expect. I'm sorry, is this like. 

Speaker E [14:17 - 14:46]: Oh, yeah. When you guys gave me the Instagram, I'm like, I don't want to log into this. That's true. Okay. That's true. I'm like, I don't want to look messages. You know what I mean? So. So, yeah. So I found, you know, how the algorithm works. They just popped up. It was right around when they released Kiss the Ring. And so I watched the video and I was like, man, this seems like a really cool band. You know, if their bass player ever leaves, coming to hit him up. And then, as fate would have it, you know, years later. Yeah, pretty. 

Speaker A [14:46 - 14:49]: Pretty much like a voodoo doll just sticking pins in them and pretty much. 

Speaker B [14:49 - 14:51]: Put it out in the universe. 

Speaker A [14:51 - 14:54]: I'm a big believer in the universe, so I get that. Yeah. 

Speaker E [14:54 - 15:06]: So, yeah, just, you know, just fate, I guess. I don't know. With a pipe, you know, just now. Antonio, if you're listening, I swear to God, you had it coming. 

Speaker D [15:08 - 15:09]: That's what she says back. 

Speaker A [15:10 - 15:10]: Kidding. 

Speaker E [15:11 - 15:24]: But no, it was cool filling in Antonio's shoes because, I mean, he does write some pretty badass bass lines and it's been a lot of fun learning them. And kind of, you know, I feel like I know him just from learning his playing style. Kind of silly, but, you know. 

Speaker D [15:24 - 15:25]: Yeah. 

Speaker A [15:25 - 15:45]: The Mayo Performing Arts center is the heart of arts and Entertainment in Morristown, New Jersey. MPAC presents over 200 events annually and is home to an innovative children's arts education program. To see MPAC's upcoming schedule of world class concerts, stand up comedy, family shows, and more, head to mayoarts.org or just click the link in our show notes. Kimmy. 

Speaker B [15:45 - 16:54]: Awesome. I mean, I guess I was in like two other bands in high school before finding Reality Suite and joining them. And we played out a few shows. We didn't do too, too much. We had some photo shoots, we started writing, but it just wasn't. It wasn't fitting my style. Yes. I mean, there was. It was really hardcore. Like, they. They brought in a screamer, and I was just like, I don't know if this is capturing exactly, like, what I want to be singing and doing, so kind of fell apart. Nobody got along in that band, so tried forming another band. Didn't really work out. And so then I was back to the drawing board. And that's when I found Reality Suite. And how did you find this? Well, back then, I didn't know where to go. There was no, like, rock magazine or, like, where. I don't know, it was just like a weird time where it was hard to find musicians. And so I went to Craigslist, as. 

Speaker A [16:54 - 16:58]: We all have done at certain points in time. Missed encounters, all those. 

Speaker E [16:58 - 17:01]: That's how you know you're not in the dark timeline. Exactly. 

Speaker A [17:01 - 17:02]: Really Missed encounters. 

Speaker D [17:03 - 17:09]: Yes. Saw Long Hair dude online at Starbucks. I know I can probably. 

Speaker A [17:09 - 17:10]: In a band. 

Speaker D [17:10 - 17:15]: Yeah, you're in a bit. Or. Or. Or a garage garbage collector. 

Speaker A [17:15 - 17:17]: Yeah, either way. 

Speaker D [17:17 - 17:29]: Mike, to your. Your question earlier, though, you have something to the effect of, you know, when I think you said, like, to Kimmy and Jeff, when you joined the band, or when somebody joined the band to impact the sound or whichever. Or something like that, Right? 

Speaker A [17:29 - 17:30]: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Speaker D [17:31 - 18:23]: To, you know, honestly, when Kimmy joined the band, definitely she impacted the band because, you know, like I was saying for the first, like three years, maybe four years, we had released a few EPs digitally, a CD, and we were really testing out the waters with everything. You know, we were. Antonio and I were very. I mean, I could speak for myself. I was bored with rock music at the time. And I was still in my, you know, the Killers and Franz Ferdinand and Muse. Muse. That's another one phase. So, like, you know, I. We were trying to do something different and what. We kept coming. David Guetta. Yeah. We were all over the place. But it was good, though, because the one thing that we could admit to ourselves was that when we did rock, it sounded authentic and it. And it kicked ass. 

Speaker A [18:24 - 18:24]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [18:24 - 18:33]: So, like, songs like Wingman, which lasted, you know, 14 years, a couple other songs, like, we knew they worked, but we're still trying to make the other. 

Speaker B [18:33 - 18:36]: Things work, to find her sound, find our sound. 

Speaker A [18:36 - 18:36]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [18:36 - 18:49]: When Kimmy came into the picture and she was dressed like this, we said, you know what? We gotta just. No, I'm just kidding. But. No, but seriously, though, when she came in and her voice fit with the rock stuff. 

Speaker A [18:49 - 18:49]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [18:49 - 18:54]: We just. We're like, well, why are we trying so hard? Let's just do what we do. 

Speaker A [18:54 - 18:54]: Right? 

Speaker D [18:54 - 18:56]: You know, and. Yes. 

Speaker A [18:56 - 18:58]: Yeah. Just let it go. Yeah, yeah. 

Speaker B [18:59 - 19:02]: I think I did bring some modern rock, though, in. 

Speaker C [19:02 - 19:02]: Absolutely. 

Speaker D [19:02 - 19:03]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [19:03 - 19:05]: Some pretty recognized with you. 

Speaker D [19:06 - 19:08]: Oh, oh, right. We're doing covers. 

Speaker C [19:08 - 19:11]: Yeah. Playing With Fire was a. One of the first songs that we wrote together. 

Speaker A [19:11 - 19:12]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [19:12 - 19:16]: We had the music, she had lyrics, and it fit like a glove. Yeah, it was perfect. 

Speaker A [19:16 - 19:26]: That's awesome. I should have asked this at the very beginning. Where does the name Reality Suite Come from. How does one pick that name and why? Reality Suite. 

Speaker B [19:26 - 19:27]: A napkin. 

Speaker A [19:27 - 19:27]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [19:27 - 19:30]: It all started a dirty napkin in my car. 

Speaker C [19:30 - 19:30]: Yeah. 

Speaker A [19:31 - 19:31]: Really? 

Speaker D [19:33 - 19:35]: Wow. Well, there's smoke, there's fire. Michael. 

Speaker A [19:35 - 19:36]: Sure. Yeah. 

Speaker D [19:36 - 19:48]: So, all right, so the story goes. I was driving to work this one day. I was in Eaton Town. I was on Route 36. I remember specifically, I was at the light of 36 and 35. Do you guys know where I am? 

Speaker A [19:48 - 19:49]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [19:49 - 20:07]: You know where I am. I was on my way to work, and I was never Howard Stern. Big Howard Stern fan. And they were talking about reality shows. Whatever they were talking about, I don't remember, but they had. We're talking about reality shows. And the word reality just stuck in my head. I was like, reality. I wrote that down on a napkin. 

Speaker A [20:07 - 20:08]: What is reality? 

Speaker D [20:08 - 20:09]: Exactly. 

Speaker A [20:09 - 20:09]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [20:10 - 20:11]: That's what I'm questioning. Right. 

Speaker A [20:11 - 20:14]: You're a really deep guy. I can, like, really. I really get that. 

Speaker D [20:14 - 20:15]: Thanks. 

Speaker A [20:15 - 20:15]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [20:15 - 20:16]: Mocking me. 

Speaker A [20:16 - 20:17]: No, no, no. Of course it. 

Speaker D [20:17 - 20:18]: Gaslighting is. 

Speaker A [20:19 - 20:21]: Might be. I don't know. I don't really know what that means. 

Speaker B [20:21 - 20:22]: Is this real? 

Speaker C [20:23 - 20:24]: Are we here? 

Speaker D [20:24 - 20:28]: Are we really here? No. So, but reality, I felt like, was something everyone can relate to. 

Speaker A [20:28 - 20:28]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [20:28 - 20:38]: So, like, reality what? Something reality. Blah, blah, blah. So that just kind of lingered in my car for a little bit. You know, we were called the industry standard. 

Speaker C [20:38 - 20:38]: Standard. 

Speaker D [20:38 - 20:40]: Yeah, for a little bit. 

Speaker B [20:40 - 20:41]: Nothing standard about us. 

Speaker A [20:41 - 20:42]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [20:42 - 20:53]: But I felt like we're misfits from a marketing perspective. I felt like that was selling ourselves short. Calling yourself standard is, like, substandard. We're. We're. We're banned. Boring. Yeah. 

Speaker A [20:53 - 20:55]: Like. Oh, cool. Industry standards. 

Speaker D [20:55 - 20:56]: Yeah, they're pretty standard. 

Speaker A [20:56 - 20:57]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [20:57 - 21:02]: So one day, Joe and I were on the phone, and I'm going to pass it over to Joe. 

Speaker C [21:02 - 21:12]: Yeah, we're on the phone. I was on River Drive. Not that that matters. In Totoa, the corner of River Drive. And he mentioned the street he's on, so. 

Speaker D [21:14 - 21:15]: I remember. 

Speaker A [21:15 - 21:21]: Yeah, you just put that on a map on the website. Be like, this is where Reality Suite was. You know, the name was formed. Yeah. 

Speaker D [21:21 - 21:25]: So when you're doing the walking tours, all the fans are doing the walking tours. 

Speaker A [21:25 - 21:26]: Walking through New Jersey. 

Speaker C [21:26 - 21:41]: I was at work, and Brian calls me. I walk out of the office. I'm in the hallway. The. The suite that I was in was 201. Suite 201. And I just mentioned that on the phone, and that's just pretty much how it came together. 

Speaker A [21:41 - 21:41]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [21:41 - 21:42]: Yeah. 

Speaker A [21:42 - 23:01]: Just sweet how stuff like that works out weird. Okay. I want to pick it up because I don't want to take too much. Too much more time because obviously we're gonna. Well, I'm not gonna rehearse. You guys are gonna rehearse. But I want to take it from, you know, Kimmy joins the band, and, you know, all the stuff that's kind of happened since then. I always like to ask artists, especially people where there's like. Like, the way that creatives. Whether it's like, someone doing a podcast or the stuff that we do, the stuff that you guys do, the stuff that people do when they, like, paint a picture. Like, it's really hard to define success and. But I do like to kind of point out people's moments in time, like, where they're like, wow, this is something that. Cause, like, I've noticed that a lot, doing this stuff full time, where it's like you have these long, terrible valleys, but then you have these peaks which just, like, get you back to normal, and then they get you through the next couple valleys that you have to go through. So, like, as a band, have you had those over? I mean, I'm sure you've had them. But moments in time, over the course of the lifespan of the band, particularly since, you know, Kimmy and Jeff have been a part of it. Maybe less so Jeff, but more so Kimmy, no offense, but it's just a less. A shorter amount of time, but moments in time where you're just like, wow, like this. We're like, we're doing something really cool here, and people are embracing what we're doing, which is cool for sure. 

Speaker B [23:01 - 23:33]: I think especially before COVID I think we were just, like, balls to the wall. We were getting all these awesome theater shows and getting our foot in the door, like, really cool venues and having very successful shows and just growing our fan base and just. It was like, you know, when you see that light at the end of the tunnel, you're like, everything you like, you're working for, and you're finally seeing some success from it. And then Covid happened, and that kind of just put a halt to things. 

Speaker A [23:33 - 23:34]: Sure. 

Speaker B [23:34 - 23:41]: But then after that, we got the Nickelback show. We got that call, and I was just like, oh, my God, Wait, this isn't over. 

Speaker A [23:42 - 23:44]: The Rebirth still not dead yet. 

Speaker B [23:44 - 23:48]: Yes. And then again, like, then we went like, another law. And then now. 

Speaker D [23:48 - 23:49]: And then Antonio quit. 

Speaker B [23:49 - 23:50]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [23:50 - 23:50]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [23:50 - 24:13]: Now I guess we're starting again. He doesn't like Nickelback, but, I mean, we love. We love doing this. I mean, we. I have to do it. It's like I. You have to do it, you know. Yeah. It's something that I would do regardless. And whether we make it or not, I mean, it keeps me sane, and it's my therapy and my. My outlet, and I love it. So. 

Speaker A [24:13 - 24:14]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [24:14 - 24:14]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [24:15 - 24:55]: I mean, for me, the. One of my high points was the Awaken album in 2019. The release of that album was just, you know, just amazing. You know, we put so many years into it, and having Kimmy in the band and restructuring what we were doing and just, you know, go in the studio for that, you know, six months, eight months, and getting everything, you know, just mixed and mastered. That, to me, was one of my Nirvana moments. But as far as shows. Yeah. Like, Kimi was mentioning, just opening up for, you know, like, just some. Hitting some, you know, really cool venues and opening up for, you know, Vixen and Rat and, you know, Nickelback. Yeah. Good stuff. 

Speaker D [24:55 - 24:56]: Danger. Danger, dude. 

Speaker C [24:56 - 24:57]: Danger. Oh, my God. 

Speaker D [24:57 - 24:57]: Oh, Trickster. 

Speaker C [24:57 - 24:59]: Trickster. Steve. 

Speaker B [24:59 - 25:10]: How about. I'm sorry. Like, when you look out in the crowd and you see fans, like, they know the lyrics. And that was a moment that I was just like, wow, that's cool. 

Speaker C [25:10 - 25:11]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [25:11 - 25:19]: Like, it became hard to gauge. I don't say success because we're not. I don't know if we're successful, but. 

Speaker A [25:19 - 25:27]: Like, I think you're. I wouldn't have booked you for Jersey Fest if I didn't think that you guys were successful. No, we're not. We're not taking any scrubs, you know, like. 

Speaker D [25:27 - 25:28]: True, true. 

Speaker A [25:28 - 25:28]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [25:28 - 25:29]: We're big in Japan. 

Speaker D [25:29 - 25:31]: We are big in Japan. 

Speaker A [25:31 - 25:37]: This. This show was huge in Slovenia for, like, a year. We were number one in places and travel in Slovenia for a year. 

Speaker B [25:38 - 25:38]: Really? 

Speaker A [25:38 - 25:39]: I swear to God. 

Speaker B [25:39 - 25:41]: Oh, my God. I've been there. It's awesome. 

Speaker A [25:41 - 25:45]: That's. Were you listening to the show while you were there? Because I. You know, it's crazy. 

Speaker D [25:46 - 25:46]: That's great. 

Speaker C [25:46 - 25:47]: Amazing. 

Speaker D [25:47 - 26:26]: No, but, like, by shows or, like, what's going on, I started to feel like for a while, like, what's happening in Jersey? I didn't feel like we were getting the love. And when I say that, I mean, we were getting so much love from. From around the world that, to me, like, we were getting great shows. Yeah, totally. You know, opening up for touring legendary bands and stuff like that. Nickelback. But it was like, the local fans, or not even the local fans, the fans around the world, like, when you get those messages on Instagram or Facebook or, you know, whichever, that are, like, totally legit. Like, I love you guys. I love the song, you know, what was that? 

Speaker E [26:26 - 26:27]: Here's a picture of my dad. 

Speaker D [26:27 - 26:33]: Yeah. And here's my thing. But, yeah, stuff like that. Like, I always screenshot that Brian's the. 

Speaker C [26:33 - 26:34]: First one to weed those out. 

Speaker A [26:35 - 26:36]: The filter. 

Speaker C [26:36 - 26:37]: Yeah. 

Speaker A [26:37 - 26:37]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [26:38 - 26:39]: You screenshot those? 

Speaker A [26:39 - 26:39]: Really? 

Speaker B [26:40 - 26:41]: Not the Brian? 

Speaker D [26:41 - 26:59]: No, I forward those to Jeff. They're always like, can you send this to Kimmy? I'm like, no. All right. And I send Jeff's beard. A photo of Jeff's beard in return. No, but just the beard. Nothing else. But for a while, I mean, that's where I felt we were successful. 

Speaker A [26:59 - 26:59]: Yeah. 

Speaker D [26:59 - 27:26]: You know, when, like, fans started or supporters started posting photos of themselves holding our CD. When Skin came out, our first CD, back in 2015, 2016, when people were doing that, like, wow, that's pretty cool. Like, people are acknowledging us. Like, I never thought to do that. And when people were doing it. Yeah, it's like that. That's crazy. And then, you know, just. Yeah. Just hearing from people around the world, literally, like Japan or Brazil. Brazil. 

Speaker A [27:26 - 27:27]: That's so cool. 

Speaker C [27:27 - 27:28]: Yeah. Yeah. 

Speaker D [27:29 - 27:31]: New Zealand. I know who you are. 

Speaker B [27:32 - 27:32]: Uk. 

Speaker D [27:32 - 27:33]: Uk. 

Speaker A [27:33 - 27:34]: Yes. 

Speaker D [27:34 - 27:35]: Who else we should we shout out? 

Speaker C [27:36 - 27:41]: Colombia, Colombia, Mexico, you name it. 

Speaker D [27:41 - 27:41]: Yeah. 

Speaker C [27:41 - 27:42]: Japan. I mean. 

Speaker A [27:42 - 27:43]: Yeah. That's so cool. 

Speaker C [27:43 - 27:44]: Yeah. 

Speaker A [27:44 - 28:09]: So I also know that within the last couple years, you guys have released some new music, but when this episode comes out. Because we're recording this, like, a couple weeks out from when the episode's gonna release. But when this episode comes out on the 29th. Right. Is that what we said? There's another important thing happening for Reality Suite that day too. So it's not just this. This is secondary. But what is the thing that's happening that day also for you guys? 

Speaker D [28:09 - 28:12]: Jeff is shaving his beard on camera. 

Speaker A [28:12 - 28:15]: Don't do it, dude. Don't do it. Keep it forever. 

Speaker B [28:15 - 28:16]: I'm growing a beard. 

Speaker A [28:16 - 28:17]: She's growing. 

Speaker E [28:17 - 28:19]: The bearded lady is gonna shave it. 

Speaker D [28:19 - 28:21]: We're gonna paste it on Amy. 

Speaker B [28:21 - 28:22]: Yes. 

Speaker D [28:23 - 28:24]: Sexy. 

Speaker B [28:24 - 28:26]: Gotta keep everyone on edge. 

Speaker D [28:26 - 28:28]: Non binary. 

Speaker B [28:30 - 28:45]: But, yeah, we're super excited. We're really releasing a new single. And the single is called these Fears. And super exciting because it's been. When's the last time we. Five months since we released. 

Speaker E [28:45 - 28:46]: This will be the first song. 

Speaker B [28:46 - 28:47]: Yes. 

Speaker A [28:47 - 28:52]: Was the last one. Insane was the last one. Or Hollywood was the last one. 

Speaker D [28:52 - 28:58]: Not to be confused with Bollywood. We re recorded it and re Released it in India as Bollywood. 

Speaker A [28:58 - 28:58]: Really? 

Speaker D [28:58 - 28:58]: Yeah. 

Speaker A [28:58 - 29:00]: That's cool. You should. 

Speaker D [29:00 - 29:01]: You should see our Spotify numbers. 

Speaker B [29:01 - 29:03]: Yeah, that's not a bad idea. 

Speaker A [29:06 - 29:24]: Okay, before we get into like, where people can go to find stuff. I do. I also have one more question. I don't know why this just popped into my head too. Did you guys do a song for Liv Morgan, or was it something that she picked one of your songs to use? Because I see on Spotify, it's like the song and then parentheses. Liv Morgan. Like, what is that? 

Speaker B [29:26 - 29:58]: Oh, well, actually, we worked with Darren on that song, and Darren is. Oh, So I mean, Darren, he. He was just former member. Yeah, our former member that we. We've worked with before with a few songs, but he was like, hey, let's write a song to Liv Morgan's intro. Like, where she walks out her intro song, and he's like, do you want to work on this and you want to be on it? And so I was like, yeah, for sure. 

Speaker A [29:58 - 29:59]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [29:59 - 30:02]: And actually, crazy story is I used. 

Speaker A [30:02 - 30:04]: To work with her because she's from Jersey, right? 

Speaker B [30:04 - 30:16]: Yeah, she's from, like, the town I actually grew up in. Yeah, we used to work together. Yeah, we served together at a restaurant. And I was like, definitely. Like, let's do it. 

Speaker A [30:16 - 30:17]: Yeah. 

Speaker B [30:17 - 30:20]: And. Yeah, and we did it. 

Speaker A [30:20 - 30:25]: Cool. Sweet. All right. You got something. 

Speaker D [30:25 - 30:25]: I was just saying. 

Speaker A [30:26 - 30:45]: Totally, totally. That's a good. Like, just kind of, you know, move on to the next thing. Word. All right, so if people want to learn more about Reality Suite, obviously they should get tickets for May 17th Jersey Fest at White Eagle Hall. Radio Gardens8.com. Jersey Fest is where you can get tickets, but if they want to learn more about the band, where would you send them to go learn more about the band? 

Speaker C [30:46 - 30:49]: Reality suite.com to Jeff. 

Speaker A [30:49 - 30:51]: Everyone's next to Snap. 

Speaker E [30:51 - 31:04]: Yeah. Instagram at reality suite. Reality suite.com. we're not super much on X or FA. Well, Facebook just search Reality Suite, being that it's unique. Yeah. YouTube is big for us. 

Speaker B [31:04 - 31:05]: We like to see people on YouTube videos. 

Speaker E [31:05 - 31:12]: I like, talk to folks on there. Reality Suite. Such a unique name that if you type it into Google, like, 10 times out of 10, you'll get us and not somebody else. 

Speaker B [31:12 - 31:19]: But it's sweet. Like, S U I T E not S W E E T. That usually gets confusing. 

Speaker E [31:19 - 31:20]: Piece of info. 

Speaker A [31:20 - 31:32]: Yeah. We'll put the links in the show notes. People just, like, go click them. But I do like to at least just, like, say them. And YouTube is important because you guys do, like, the video stuff that you guys do is always really cool. Yeah. 

Speaker D [31:32 - 31:32]: Thank you. 

Speaker A [31:32 - 31:56]: Yeah, absolutely. Well, this has been great. I'm gonna hang out and just record you guys while you rehearse. I think that'll be fun. And then we'll put that video up, too. But thank you for inviting me in. Can't wait to for you guys to play Jersey Fest. And everybody, thanks for listening. This has been the greetings for the RSA podcast powered by the New Jersey Lottery. I'm Mike Ham. We were here with Reality Suite. And we'll catch you next week. 

Speaker E [32:00 - 32:01]: You. 

Speaker D [32:03 - 32:03]: Baby. 

Speaker E [32:04 - 32:08]: Do you want to tell me before. 

Speaker D [32:08 - 32:12]: You go all the way? Do you all.